Peanut butter
is a food made of roasted and ground peanuts, usually salted and
sweetened. It is commonly sold in grocery stores, but can be made at
home. Many styles are available; the most popular are creamy
(smooth) and crunchy (with small chunks of peanuts), but
honey-roasted, whole-nut varieties, varieties mixed with chocolate,
and other variations can also be found.

All of the
peanuts used for peanut butter are grown in the USA, either in the
Southeast (Georgia) or the Southwest (Texas and Oklahoma). The two
best-tasting varieties for peanut butter are Spanish and Runners

Process

Creamy peanut
butter is made by grinding all of the mixture very finely. The
crunchier styles are either more coarsely ground or have larger
pieces of peanut added back into the mixture after grinding.

The peanut
butter manufacturers first dry roast the peanuts. Dry roasting
is done by either the batch or continuous method. In the batch
method, peanuts are roasted in 400-pound lots in a revolving oven
heated to about 800 degrees Fahrenheit (426.6 degrees Celsius). The
peanuts are heated at 320 degrees Fahrenheit (160 degrees Celsius)
and held at this temperature for 40 to 60 minutes to reach the exact
degree of doneness. All the nuts in each batch must be uniformly
roasted

Uses

Peanut butter
is frequently used in sandwiches, particularly the peanut butter and
jelly sandwich, candy, cookies and pastry.

Peanut butter
is one of the many products that fall under the bread spreads
category. (Other well-known spreads include butter, cheese spreads,
jams, jellies and marmalades, sandwich spread, and mayonnaise). Like
the other spreads, peanut butter is normally added to ordinary bread
to give it a distinct and specific flavor. At times, it is used in
baking, and also in cooking to create savory sauces for various
vegetable, meat, and pasta dishes

Market

The peanut
butter industry is an important processed food industry in the U.S.
Approximately fifty-three percent of all domestically produced
peanuts are used in the production of peanut butter.

In the United
States and most of the 53 peanut-producing countries in the world,
the production and consumption of peanuts, including peanut butter,
is increasing.

The market for
peanut butter has remained relatively steady in the past years. The
entry of breakfast substitutes like instant noodles, however, have
led companies to be more creative. Players have learned to address
consumer demand and preference for more nutritious and healthier
foods by fortifying their products with Vitamins A, B1, D3, and E.